A year on from winning the Carabao Cup, Newcastle United’s progress is under scrutiny.
Lifting the trophy last March closed off a great obsession, but the theory that a first domestic trophy for 70 years might soothe a famously restless club remains precisely that. At times, St James’ Park has itched as if Wembley never happened.
Shifting Expectations at St. James’ Park
Newcastle can no longer be dismissed as perennial losers, but nor has winning become engrained, so who and what they are has become muddled. A fractious summer and the late loss of Alexander Isak, who had scored the historic winner, summoned desperation which has never faded.
It is hard to argue that Eddie Howe’s team is better. The players who dismantled Liverpool automatically became legends — with one bitter exception, Isak — but have waded through this campaign. There have been highs, but they were ninth in the Premier League after beating Chelsea; an accurate picture of inconsistency and slog.
Behind the Scenes at Newcastle
Above Howe, there has been a flushing out of Newcastle’s executive structure and renewed declarations of ambition. That sense of purpose is welcome, but four-and-a-half years on from their contentious takeover, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Newcastle remain in peculiar limbo. Progress on big-ticket issues — stadium, a new training ground — continues, but at a glacial pace (at least outwardly).
Waiting for What’s Next
After decades of yearning, Newcastle are still waiting, only this time for what’s next, with clarity impaired by a blizzard of matches (a European-high 49 games this season). Perhaps this represents the end of one era and the beginning of another, where winning is no longer a beautiful adventure, but the expected norm.
“It’s an interesting emotional journey,” David Hopkinson, Newcastle’s chief executive, tells The Athletic. “When you’re lovable losers, and you beat anybody, it’s awesome. Then you get to the place where you lose to Everton and you’re miserable. But it’s wonderful that our expectations for ourselves have changed. People expect us to TCOB — take care of business. That’s the phase we should be in.”
After all those years of failure, glorious or otherwise, it feels like business as unusual for Newcastle.
The Wembley Weekend
Wembley did not feel like business. Unlike their previous, miserable excursions there, Newcastle — fans and players — turned up and dominated, on the field and in the stands.
The whole weekend — alongside the city-centre trophy parade and celebration — brought uplift and myriad examples of growth, potential, and possibility.
Newcastle launched a #WeDon’tDoQuiet social-media campaign leading into the final. Across a fortnight, per post, their average reach, impressions and engagements grew substantially, while their video views increased fivefold. With 421 million social-media accounts reached and 496 million impressions, Newcastle reaped brand recognition.